[civilian]

So I know I don't post regularly on this site but have been coming here for quite some time. This is by far the best bb with the most knowledgable group of riders. I hate to waste your time with another "which one?" question, but I need an answer and feel you guys will be able to give me a straight forward answer based on experience rather than total heresay.

So. I'm looking to build up an '05 chameleon. The bike will be used for everything: dirt jumping (I'm still learning), freeriding (no drops over 4 or 5 feet) and eventually some longer rides. I weigh 140 lbs and am a fairly smooth rider. Weight is not a huge issue for me but I'm not into a marz dj or anything. I plan on building the bike up with lighter freeride parts (santa cruz r disc fr package).

So my question is: Should I get the Pike Team or Nixon Elite?

The Pike is new but I've seen many good reviews both on this board and others as well as from local riders whove spent some considerable time on them. Has some great adjustment and looks pretty damn cool but again, it's a first year product and the travel adjust affects the spring rate (at least I've read that this is the case). I have also never tried the Pike so I have no idea how plush it feels. Ideally I want a feel similar to TPC or HSCV. I have no interest in SPV or any stiction. Plush should be the name of the game.

The Nixon is equally as unproven and I have read some reports of crown issues similar to the Stance line with the tires hitting the crowns on the first run forks. But it has TPC damping which I love and Rapid Travel Wind Down allowing me to jump it at a lower height and then crank up the travel in other situations. Basically a lighter Flick with RTWD. Sweet. Also looks better to me.

So please give me your opinions and experience. Both are similarly priced and I'm having a really hard time with this decision.

 

[chicodude]

Pike.

 

[dexter]

my nixon with 20mm axle was so stiff i couldnt believe it. almost as stiff as my 4inch firelfy (before it droped down to 2 1/4 inches) why not check out a firely? 120-90 sounds good

 

[speedster]

Pike...I've ridden both

 

[civilian]

my nixon with 20mm axle was so stiff i couldnt believe it. almost as stiff as my 4inch firelfy (before it droped down to 2 1/4 inches) why not check out a firely? 120-90 sounds good

Firefly has SPV and is up to 6 inches this year. It can be set at 4 inches but the spring rate is increased to the point where it feels locked out. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Keep 'em coming.

 

[Cash-Money]

i've been very happy with my pike, 140mm for trails and big stuff, 95mm for park. can be tuned very stiff, the GATE feature is awesome

 

[civilian]

How plush is the travel when the gate is open? Anyhting else you can compare it to?

 

[oly]

Havent ridden Nixon, but will throw in a positive for pike. I think its better than the 02 z1 it replaced by far. The travel adjust is good for varried terrain.. road climbs vs bommer decents. The lockout/gate is sick. If your a jumper or 4x'er you can set it up stiffer so it doesnt dive into lips or berms. Open the fork is very plush and at 140mm pretty good travel for most trails. Maxle is also by far the quickest system for 20mm. I cant say anything bad about the fork. Its made my trail riding experience all that much better.

 

[Mattoid]

Pike.

 

[.:Jeenyus:.]

The Nixon seems to be having problems staying at a set amount of travel. It likes to slink down while your riding it.

 

[klunky]

I just got a chameleon with pikes and it rides really nice. I dont have any experiance with the manitou but you sure wont regret going for pikes. I havent done any dirtjumping on em yet but lots of xc riding bit of street and riding on DH courses.

I love em and can email you some pics if you like.

 

[rockwool]

the little i've tested the pike i liked it. fully extended it wasnt as plush as the z1/shiver sc's i've owned/ridden but it was defenetly more progressive, wich i liked for its responsiveness. and when in 4" jumping mode it was just perfect for that type of use.
dunno about the nixon.

 

[bigkonarider]

PIKE is beefier.
I like mine & the gate-pop-off is great for 4x sprint starts.
Nixon seems like a lightweight fork for XC for people that want a tall fork geometry.
Anything lighter than a PIKE-"I" wouldn't trust.

 

[TamaSKA]

as far as I know nixon has air inside, while pike is a coil fork.

So they move different. They are in one category, but you must try which feels for YOU better

 

[tartosuc]

as far as I know nixon has air inside, while pike is a coil fork.

So they move different. They are in one category, but you must try which feels for YOU better

The nixon elite is coil, and the 2 other models are air...

PIKE is beefier.
I like mine & the gate-pop-off is great for 4x sprint starts.
Nixon seems like a lightweight fork for XC for people that want a tall fork geometry.
Anything lighter than a PIKE-"I" wouldn't trust.

WTF? have you seen the nixon? it looks more like a sherman than xc fork...!

 

[DHS]

theres 3 different nixons so some air some coil.
i was pretty sure there was different pike choices aswell.
what about a Marzocchi All MTN SL? or one from that series.
i REALLY want the SL, was gonna get the nixon, but wayyyyy too many problems with it.

 

[Incubus]

Just curious, aren't the nixons in the Fox 36 price range while the pikes are less than half that?

 

[DHS]

Just curious, aren't the nixons in the Fox 36 price range while the pikes are less than half that?

yup, i think your right

 

[scurban]

I can't say anything for the pike because I never rode one, but here are my thoughts for the Nixon. Its very smooth, the rapid wind down works without any major issues, and in all honesty its pretty stiff. If you are 140lbs, the stock springs might be ok for you, but you will probably find them to soft for jumping. I switched mine out for the heaviest springs, and I still felt like it was too soft for jumping. (I loved it for the dh style trails we have here in Santa Cruz though.) I have since traded in my Nixon for a stance, because 115mm (the shortest setting) was too tall for me, I prefer 80mm-100mm for jumping, and since 99% of my riding is at the local DJ's, I felt I needed to get something a little more durable.

I never had problems with my Nixon, but I did have problems with a Sherman, and now the Stance I own. I have to say Manitou is a very difficult company to work with. They have horrible customer service, I have had nothing but problems with their warranty department, and because of that, I will NEVER buy another manitou. I will probably stick with either Marzocchi, or Fox.

 

[bikeguy100k]

I have a Nixon Elite and it's so plush! I like the amount of travel it has and how plush it is. It's also very stiff. I've ridden the Pike and the Nixon is stiffer laterally.

 

[Matt D]

I never had problems with my Nixon, but I did have problems with a Sherman, and now the Stance I own. I have to say Manitou is a very difficult company to work with. They have horrible customer service, I have had nothing but problems with their warranty department, and because of that, I will NEVER buy another manitou. I will probably stick with either Marzocchi, or Fox.

If you can, try getting your shop to send it to Ian @ the Hawley company (more of an East Coast company). He's certified to do all the warranty stuff for Manitou and does a great job, quick turnaround too.

 

[dropmachine]

How plush is the travel when the gate is open? Anyhting else you can compare it to?

Witht he Gate fully open, its very plush. Its not marzocchi Liquid "even moves over painted lines" Plush, and its not Fox "i didn't even know it was moviing" plush, but mine is sort of similar to a Manitou's feel. That said, mine isn't fully broken in yet, and in speaking to RS they said the bushings come a little tighter then last year, so they need some work. This should result in bushings lasting longer though, which is fine by me.

The movement feels very controlled, which is nice, it doesn't seem to just wallow through its travel. In movement, its a similar feel to my old Manitou Millenium, except smoother and considerably less stiction, and the damping actually works. It doesn't feel like a Psylo, which had to me a very "cheap" feel to it. I have to admit I am very impressed. And at that price? Giddyup!

I havent' tried the Nixon, can't comment.

 

[civilian]

So far it seems like the Pike is the winner simply because it hasn't had any major issues with reliablity. A guy at the shop I will be buying the bike from told me that a friend of his did some testing for RS over the summer and never had a single problem with the Pike. The same cannot be said of the Nixon.

But just to let you guys know, I would be looking at the Elite. It has a coil damping system and therefore it shouldn't have the "travel slippage" problem of the higher end models. It is also similar in price to the Pike Team, only 50 bucks more ($549 US vs $490 US). On paper it seems like a winner but people really do like the Pike.......

 

[DHS]

damn, you guys are making me want to buy a Rockshox fork. its been about 8years since i have...

 

[sanjuro]

Marzocchi also sells a full line of All Mountain forks (cleverly named the AM series). I'd like to know if they are available and people's reaction.

 

[Cash-Money]

i have my pike on a soul cycles hardline, which is pretty similar to a chameleon ... i think. As far as plushness, its very nice with the gate fully open. i set the gate almost at full (i'm 200#) and it keeps the fork from diving. I've ridden a sherman, and i like the feel of the pike better.

 

[Sir_Crackien]

i would say the pike. the MAXEL axle is just plain cool and feels very smooth ing the travel. it is also beefier than the Nixon. but look at the 2005 flick. good tcp dampening, good weight and strong.

BTW the pike now has a dual air option. dual air when used properly is one of the most adj spring system on the market. you can setup the beginning sencitivity

 

[JRogers]

Just as a disclaimer, I've never ridden a Nixon or a Pike. However, I have heard nothing but good things about the Pike.

Just sort of a basic question here: is there any reason why you are limited to these 2 forks? I would guess that you just liked them or didn't like other offerings from other companies for whatever reason. Just asking because I think something like a Fox TALAS might be the ticket. Possibly a Marz All Mountain too. There are just a ton of options out there and being limited to 2 first-year forks (one of which seems to have a lot of issues) seems a bit...well...limiting.

 

[civilian]

is there any reason why you are limited to these 2 forks? I would guess that you just liked them or didn't like other offerings from other companies for whatever reason. Just asking because I think something like a Fox TALAS might be the ticket. Possibly a Marz All Mountain too. There are just a ton of options out there and being limited to 2 first-year forks (one of which seems to have a lot of issues) seems a bit...well...limiting.

Fair enough. There are A LOT of nice single crown forks out there. I've actually had a number of forks running through my head for quite some time. These are just the two that fit the bill the best for me I think.

"What is the bill ?" you ask. Well, I want a 5 or 6 inch travel fork that can be jumped without exploding under me (I only weigh 140 lbs) but isn't a DJ 1 2 or 3. I also want a fork that can go on longer rides and take some smaller drops. Travel adjust would be a big bonus simply because of the wide range of riding styles I enjoy.

I've looked at the Pike becuase it is all of these things and really cheap. As for the Nixon, it seems to be a Flick (which I absolutely love) but with travel adjust instead of a lock-out. Last year I would have just gone with a Flick but they are only available in 6 inches this year, with no travel adjust. Not the greatest for jumping. Same can be said of the Z1. The Stance Flow is an option but it only has Fluid Flow. A scaled down version of TPC.

The Fox Forx are definitely sweet (I've tried a Talas and a Vanilla) but the Vanilla doesn't have travel adjust, is a QR and the Talas is damn expensive. Ideally I would pick up a 36 and that would be the end of it, but it's even more coin than the Talas. I'm still in university and so money is always an issue.

As for the Marz AM series, they are all air forks (at least one leg) so I'm not sure. They also don't have any travel adjust system except for the higher end ones and none of them come in TA models. But if anyone has more experience with them then let me know. I'm still open to suggestions.....

 

[mobius]

The AM series from my understanding you can order with a TA which is what i will be doing for an All Mtn 1 most likely.

 

[Mtnrider]

I just got my Pike a couple of weeks ago and I have not tried the Nixon but I'm very impressed with the Pike, I weight about 210 and it is stiff and pretty plush and very adjustable, on my HT it is just what I was looking for.

 

[Sherpa]

The AM series from my understanding you can order with a TA which is what i will be doing for an All Mtn 1 most likely.

I hate to say it, but your wrong, unless Marz has a big change of heart. The AM series was specifically designed as a long-travel trail fork and has a weaker crown and a QR because of this. Some dude on mtbr did make a ZAM1, with Z1 lowers and AM1 damping carts,stanchions and crowns.

 

[Jm_]

I hate to say it, but your wrong, unless Marz has a big change of heart. The AM series was specifically designed as a long-travel trail fork and has a weaker crown and a QR because of this. Some dude on mtbr did make a ZAM1, with Z1 lowers and AM1 damping carts,stanchions and crowns.

Don't forget the tapered stanchions

It's no all-out freeride fork.